Firefighters are often typecast as the heroic rescuers of cats in trees, but one unit in Washington state put its “Pet Emergency Pocket Guide” to much smaller use.

Lacey, Washington, first responders arrived on scene Friday to discover five hamsters threatened by a mobile home fire.

They quickly extinguished the flames, but spotted the pets inside, according to ABC affiliate KOMO-TV in Seattle.

Using their pocket guide and specially designed animal first aid equipment, crews treated the family of hamsters with oxygen masks. The Lacey Fire Department put photos of the rescue on their Twitter page shortly after the incident.


The two adult hamsters were named “Oreo” and “Madonna,” according to the fire department’s Twitter page. The other three were babies.

The fire department has not responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

Twitter users were delighted to see the rescue, with one tweeting, “Thank you for rescuing & providing emergency treatment for animals injured in fires. You rock!”

The fire department also tweeted, citing clothes in a dryer as the preliminary cause of the fire. Officials also shared the sad news that one of the baby hamsters didn’t survive.
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